Here's one for you. What's similar between these four world event:
a. In Darfur, tribes of mostly Christians are being tortured, killed, raped and exiled from their homes. There is no secret to this atrocity,; it is fairly outlined. Expert after expert declares that what is needed is "boots on the ground." In other words guys with guns to stop the insanity.
b. In Tibet, a formerly autonomous country, the people are under foreign control and not allowed the practice their own faith. What's worse, they are being forcibly moved to other regions while non-Tibetans are being settled in their area so that they will soon be a minority in their own country. Cultural genocide. Media are not allowed into the region the report to the world what happens there. Tibetans are fighting, almost exclusively through non-violent means, to gain their freedom.
c. In Zimbabwe, the "President" has just won an election. He did so by outlawing his opponent (who fled into hiding) and forcing the people to the polls at gunpoint. His aide has said that those in the West who oppose this can "go hang a thousand times." Many nations would like see free and fair elections, or at least a suspension of the arms trade to Zimbabwe; arms that are currently being employed against her own citizens.
d. Burma has been taken over by a small group of dictators (who renamed the country Myanmar, a name I don't use because it gives the dictators credence), who refused even food and medical supplies into the country for the citizens who lives were destroyed by natural disasters. The Buddhist monks who led protests against the government have been put behind bars, and it is illegal to disagree with the government. Many countries would like to see strict sanctions against this regime.
Guessed yet? Spoiler alert! Scroll down for the answer.
All three of these things are allowed to go on because of the influence of the Chinese government. Through its influence in regions and its veto at the United Nations security council, these activities are allowed to continue. Certainly there are other countries who block and stall action as well (i.e Russia), but they would likely fall to the wayside without the ringleader, China.
Yet this summer we are called to celebrate China in the Olympic Games. China will be the showcase of the world. Not for me. I believe that both spectators and athletes should boycott the Olympics.
But the Olympics are all about sport you say? A trans political gathering of goodwill, that has nothing to do with politics. Nonsense. If that was the case China would never have wanted the Olympics. The reason they are pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into the Olympics is for the attention it will give their country, and the legitimacy it will give their dictatorial regime.
I'm a sports fan. I enjoy watching the Olympics, but some things are more important.
11 comments:
Don't forget the regime of Dear Leader Kim Kimself and Kim-Il Sung the Immortal Father of the Mighty Revolution and of all Koreans...
The Dear Leader Kim's deep caring for his people is nearly as great as his personal bravery and sacrifice in defeating the Evil Imperialists and enemies of the Revolution. May both of these glorious defenders of the Red Flag forever protect the people of Korea from the US imperialism and may they shine forever in their energetic efforts.
Now let us all now take a moment to sing of Great Comrade Kim Jung Il and the immortal Dear Leader Kim Sung-Il.
Oh! Our brilliant General of acclaim,
From the highest peak we laud your name.
Oh! Liberator of all the workers,
We praise you for all our labors,
Kim our Great Socialist Defender,
In all your everlasting splendor,
Allow us to bask in your exalted grandeur!
Oh! Gracious Comrade Kim Sung-Il,
All that we have we owe to your will.
We are forever obliged to your invincible leadership,
You truly are the Sun of the entire galaxy,
With the fondest care for the people in all your majesty.
We all adorn you with decoration,
So that your reign shall continue for many a generation!
To be completely honest, narrow minded, and well cynical i'm more concerned with China inflating the price of oil and gas than the obvious failures and flaws of the security council. China is more concerned with their own intrests and if they don't have a major issue with the problem at hand, the instability of the region (death,desturction, and genocide)is better than the alternative, wasting their funds on something that isn't benifical to them. There is no place for greed on the security council, veto China...and it wouldn't be a bad idea to give the other four permanent members a reality check as well.
I don't know why people put so much confidence in the UN in being able to resolve global issues like these. The only thing the UN can do is put more sanctions on these countries and they can't even do that very well. All trade sanctions tend to do is impoverish the population and give the government more propaganda fuel to make the countries putting the sanctions on them look like the oppressors (when in reality it's the oppressive government who are). Furthermore, not all countries abide by sanctions so embargoed nations just go and trade with these countries who often are embargoed countries themselves or cruel regimes like the PRC.
Instead of isolating these countries the global community should be trying to do promote trade with them as much as possible. Gradually (it's not a rapid process) the population will begin demanding for liberalization within their own systems when they see what they've been missing out on. The point is not the force changes on these countries from the outside, it is to encourage internal forces to demand the changes themselves so when the changes do happen they're more easily accepted as being legitimate.
P.S.
Brett, China is not artificially inflating the price of oil and natural gas on the global market. Yes, China and other nations have been using more oil but we have no right to deny the rest of the world the level of development that we in the West have enjoyed for so long. The reason the prices at the pump are so high is because of supply and demand. If you really want to blame somebody blame some of the members of the OPEC cartel and some other oil producers. They think that oil is more valuable underground than on the marketplace so they haven't been ramping up production to meet the rising demand. At the same time the Russians and Kuwaitis (among others) are not reinvesting enough capital into their oil production so output from there has been declining or will soon. Oil is also getting more expensive to extract from the ground (it used to cost the Saudis $5 to extract a barrel of oil now it's closer to $20) and oil is increasingly being extracted from more costly to extract sources such as bitumen sands, shale, liquefied coal etc. But rising oil prices are not a bad thing anyway, it makes other alternative energies that were never cost efficient economically viable for the first time.
Keith. The whole "trade" as a means of change thing has been going on for a long time, and was the reason touted for the US opening the doors with China in the first place. So far, no luck. And any so-called liberalization of the people has some fairly significant obstacles in China. You'd need a real peoples' revolution.
In the meantime, I'm completely with Mr. Corrigan on these Olympics. They are a joke in a way that they haven't been since the Nazis played host (again, a nasty regime using the Olympics as a propaganda tool.) The IOC was crazy to give this to China.
I won't watch them, and damn the Canadian government for not having the stones to do SOMETHING, whether it's a boycott of the opening ceremonies or whatever they want.
"Keith. The whole "trade" as a means of change thing has been going on for a long time, and was the reason touted for the US opening the doors with China in the first place. So far, no luck."
Not really. The recent period of massive trade with China only started in recent years and already things are starting to move in the right direction. Trade has allowed more people in China to gain wealth and rise out of poverty and become more aware of the world outside of their borders and more and more Chinese people are getting access to the internet and are learning of the crimes of their regime and the alternatives of what life is like in liberal democracies. As a result, already more Chinese citizens have been demanding better environmental protection, less corruption and better property laws. There's still far to go for China seeing as many people there are still disconnected with the rest of the world and live largely uneducated agrarian lifestyles but the progress has been good.
"And any so-called liberalization of the people has some fairly significant obstacles in China. You'd need a real peoples' revolution."
I agree that there are still hurdles for China to pass but as I mentioned previously, reform has to be a gradual process. People always seem to want change now and if they can't have it now they think that it isn't possible but reform needs time because it requires for social change in the fabric of society. A revolution by the people demanding for liberalization is a real people's revolution. If that isn't then I don't know what is.
The goal of trading with the Chinese people is to give them the opportunity to experience the quality of life enjoyed in wealthy liberal nations. Sanctions only make the embargoed population feel like they are being marginalized or unfairly punished so many of them end up turning to their own governments for support. If the Chinese people do rise up against the government it won't be because the US and EU are boycotting their cheap manufactured goods, it will be because they want better enforced property laws, less government intervention, a free press, rule of law, a fair justice system and all the other things they see going on in liberal nations that will help them compete better in the global marketplace.
Keith, while I can see where you are coming from, I think you understate some important aspects. You stated that "The recent period of massive trade with China only started in recent years and already things are starting to move in the right direction" yet economic reform from a more pure centralized economy began in the 1970's. So for almost 50 years, things have been "changing" however the faces of the government have more or less remained the same in terms of the party in power. Also, for the second largest economy in the world, it's a shame that the GDP of the average Chinese person is $5900 USD--only slightly higher than the nation of Turkmenistan. That's a pretty large disparity.
To say that hurdles exist in China is an extreme understatement considering that China has one of the worst human rights records according to Amnesty International.
Also, you stated that "The goal of trading with the Chinese people is to give them the opportunity to experience the quality of life enjoyed in wealthy liberal nations" . I would like to think that America, Canada, and all of the other nations of the world have China's best interests at heart when it comes to trade however I doubt this radical new form of altruism that you seem to see. While some may profit in terms of jobs as there is demand of cheaply made Chinese goods and this may improve the lives of a few, I doubt that the goal of the purchase of Chinese goods is to "give them the opportunity to experience the quality of life enjoyed in wealthy liberal nations". It all comes down to corporations want to minimize costs in order to maximize profits. That's just good business sense.
One a personal note, I applaud Mr. Johnson and Mr. Corrigan for taking a stand against these olympics. I also applaud those who demonstrated as the olympic torch came through their city such as when the torch came through London or when it came through San Francisco. My heart goes out to the athletes who have been training fir years for these olympics, however, the systematic oppression of 1/6 of the worlds population is a much larger issue.
I would like to see some athletes refuse to take part in these olympics and take a stand. Talk about a bold thing to do.
I won't lie, I did not have the patience to read all of the posts (Keith's "PS" was longer than his actual post... kind of turned me off). But I will state two things:
1. I truly believe that China is directly responsible for all the above mentioned atrocities. Having said that, nobody will do anything about it (including Canada) because we rely on China for far too much. If we were to start a war with China, sanctions and embargos would be put in place. Trade would diminish and worldwide economy would suffer. Although I base this on no hard evidence, I can comfortably say that we place more emphasis on our own economic status than the lives of others. WE ARE A HARDENED SOCIETY.
2. To learn more about Burma, see Rambo :-)
"WE ARE A HARDENED SOCIETY."
I agree, Ben. I've been watching the Canadian channels/news to see who these Olympics get covered compared to others in the past. So far I see no difference; so far no outcry.
The capacity to walk past a bleeding man on the road without flinching is chilling.
and to ignore the Grandfathers lapping up the blood as we pass on by
is it our ignorance or our fear that blinds us? fear birthed of ignorance? ignorance fed by fear?
just cattle being fattened up for the slaughter, we'll be paying the ferryman soon
Yay for everyone who is boycotting the olympics this year!! I'll probably be going to Calgary to protest in front of the Chinese embassy sometime this summer, probably at the end of August. Also, if anyone hasn't joined one of the (many) groups on facebook formed to boycott the Beijing Olympics yet, you definitely should. Some of them have a lot of ideas as to how you can actively boycott the olympics often at very little expense. I personally know several people who used to live in Shanghai, one is a good friend of mine and while the general public is kept generally unaware of most of the terrors its government is responsible for, there is still some pretty brutal..stuff going on there (Public executions for political dissidents, random house searches without warrant, etc.)
Anyways, this is a cause that's pretty close to my heart and I'm glad to see so many people take part in it! Even simply not watching the olyimpics this year is an excellent first step! :)
It's pretty easy for me to boycott the Olympics, I'm not a sports fan at all, ha ha. But I totally agree with all of this. Caitlin, don't forget to let me know about your protest plans I still want to take part!
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